“Water supplied by 17 wells in the Empty Quarter are collected at a location 130 kilometers east of Najran city before supplying to various districts,” Director General of the Water Department in Najran province Saleh Heshlan said in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency.
The wells are now capable of pumping 50,000 cubic meters of water daily and the pumped water is collected in the first pumping station in Nuqaiha, 125 kilometers east of Najran, and then pumped with the help of boosting stations, he said.
The neighborhoods to benefit from the project include Al-Fahd and Athayabah districts, districts on both sides of King Abdulaziz and King Abdullah roads from the Holiday Inn to the Al-Shalal intersection.
The quantity of the supply will be increased as the capacity of supply mains increases and more areas will be brought under the project.
The Empty Quarter aquifer system could be tapped for up to four billion cubic meters per year, according to recent studies.
Minister of Water and Electricity Abdullah Al-Hussayen has said that water will be provided to every house in the Kingdom under a national water plan that is in its final stages.
He said under the plan water would be extended to every home everywhere in the country, even in remote villages and hamlets. He also said sewage networks will cover all towns, districts and provinces.
The minister told local Arabic daily Al-Madinah that there would not be any change in water tariffs despite the fact demand will tremendously increase in the next five years due to an increase in population and development projects.
"The ministry is currently considering plans to specify the areas in which there is a need for treated sewage water," he added.
He said only about 20 percent of recycled water is being used now for irrigation purposes at a daily rate of 474,000 cubic meters.
Al-Hussayen asked citizens complaining about high electricity bills to approach the Saudi Electricity Company and ask officials there to check their meters. He said air conditioners are responsible for about 80 percent of power consumption.
He said there were 6 million subscribers for electricity services in 2010, a figure expected to reach 8 million by 2015.
